Inflatable finger for a drapery pleating and stretching apparatus

ABSTRACT

The improved inflatable finger has a rigid outer shell that is thin and elongated both in cross section and in side elevation. It is rounded at one end and closed, except for slots in the sides thereof. The opposite end is open and flanged for attachment to a header member of a drapery pleating and folding apparatus. A rubber bladder having the form of the outer shell, and covered with an expandable fabric sheath, fits inside the outer shell, so that its flange abuts that of the shell. The inflatable fingers are forced into sealed relationship with the header member, over holes therein, by spring clamps fitted over the flanges of the fingers and screwed to the header member. A set of parallel inflatable fingers is meshed with an opposing set of noninflatable fingers to pleat drapery between the sets. Clamping of the drapery between the two sets of fingers may be effected by inflating the bladders of the inflatable fingers so that portions of the bladders are forced through the slots in their shells to bind the drapery against adjacent noninflatable fingers. An insert may be included in each bladder to prevent sealing of the sides thereof when not inflated.

United States Patent [191 Hales 51 Apr. 10, 1973 [54] INFLATABLE FINGER FOR A DRAPERY PLEATING AND STRETCHING APPARATUS [76] Inventor: John H. Hales, PO. Box 1098, Aurora, Utah 84620 [22] Filed: Nov. 9, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 197,080

[52] US. Cl ..223/32 [51] Int. Cl. ..A41 h 43/00, D06j 1/00 [58] Field of Search 223/28-34 [56 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,613,967 10/1971 Clemont ..223/32 3,315,852 4/1967 Getchell et a1. i ..223/32 3,424,356 1/1969 Getchell et al. .....223/32 3,592,369 7/1971 Hales ..223/32 3,613,968 10/1971 Kirchei ..223/32 Primary Examiner-James R. Boler Assistant Examiner-G. V. Larkin Attorney-B. Deon Criddle ABSTRACT The improved inflatable finger has a rigid outer shell that is thin and elongated both in cross section and in side elevation. It is rounded at one end and closed, ex-

cept for slots in the sides thereof. The opposite end is open and flanged for attachment to a header member of a drapery pleating and folding apparatus. A rubber bladder having the form of the outer shell, and covered with an expandable fabric sheath, fits inside the outer shell, so that its flange abuts that of the shell. The inflatable fingers are forced into sealed relationship with the header member, over holes therein, by spring clamps fitted over the flanges of the fingers and screwed to the header member. A set of parallel inflatable fingers is meshed with an opposing set of noninflatable fingers to pleat drapery between the sets. Clamping of the drapery between the two sets of fingers may be effected by inflating the bladders of the inflatable fingers so that portions of the bladders are forced through the slots in their shells to bind the drapery against adjacent noninflatable fingers. An insert may be included in each bladder to preventsealing of the sides thereof when not inflated.

10 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATEN'IEU APR 1 0197s SHEET 2 0F 2 INVENTOR. JOHN H. HALES ATTORNEY INFLATABLE FINGER FOR A DRAIERY PLEATING AND STRETCHING APPARATUS This invention relates to means for clamping posi-- tioned drapery pleats within a drapery pleating and folding apparatus. More specifically it relates to inflatable fingers in such apparatus and to an improved inflatable finger for use in apparatus of the type disclosed in my U.S. Letters Pat. No. 3,592,369, entitled Improved Drapery Pleating and Folding Apparatus, issuedJuly13,l97l.

2. Prior Art The inflatable members disclosed in my aforesaid patent, while generally satisfactory as a drapery pleat binding means, must be replaced rather frequently since they become fatiqued and rupture after repetitive use. Also, some drapery materials tend to slip against the rubber surface of the members. Furthermore, the previously used inflatable members are unduly expensive to construct, since they depend on .wall thickness to prevent their total collapse when the air is removed therefrom.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION ing positioned drapery pleats within a drapery pleating and folding apparatus comprising a durable, elastic,

non-slip fabric sheath that fits over a balloon-type rubber bladder;

The extent of expansion of the inflatable rubber bladder is controlled by the size of openings provided in the walls of an outer shell, made of a relatively rigid material such as plastic and by the fabric reinforcement sheath. The inflatable bladder expands through the shell openings only as necessary to clamp a drapery pleat. Consequently, a minimum amount of air is required to adequately inflate the fingers and the time periods required to inflate and exhaust fingers is minimal. The air volume required to inflate the fingers is even further reduced by use of means to maintain the finger walls separated. I

Principal objects of the invention are to provide an inflatable finger for drapery pleating and stretching apparatus that has increased endurance, life and reliability and that insures effective clamping of drapery materials.

Principal features of the fingers of the invention include a rather rigid, hollow, flat outer shell constructed of plastic or the like and having a radiating flange at one end against which a bracket means is fitted to secure the inflatable finger to a header member through which air is supplied, under pressure to the finger. The outer shell has longitudinal elongate openings in the flat walls thereof.

A fabric sheath formed of nylon and rubber elastic fabric material, or thelike, is positioned within the shell such that side walls of the sheath are exposed through the openings in the shell.

A rubber bladder having a flange on one end that is adapted to be clamped between the flange of the shell and the header which approximates the bladder is fitted within the fabric sheath and both are inserted into the shell. When the bladder is inflated a portion thereof,

Referring now to the drawings:

and the surrounding sheath, expand through the openings in the sides of the outer shell.

An insert is fitted into the rubber sheath to hold the 7 side walls of the sheath apart when air under pressure is removed from the interior thereof. The insert also reduces the internal volume of the sheath, thereby somewhat reducing the volume of air needed to adequately expand it and reducing the time required to inflate and deflate it.

, Additional objects and features of the-invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and drawings, disclosing what is presently contemplated as being the best mode of the invention.

THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of a pleaterassembly including the inflatable finger of the invention;

FIG. 2, a greatly enlarged, exploded, sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1, showing the invention as it is mounted to a header member of the pleater assembly; v 7

FIG. 3, greatly enlarged, fragmentary, section taken on the line 33 of FIG. 1, showing typical ones of the inflatable fingers in their relaxed condition;

FIG. 4, .a view similar to FIG. 3, with the inflatable fingers inflated;

FIG. 5, a perspectiveviewand FIG. 6, a front elevation of a drapery pleating and folding apparatus embodying the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION of an assembled finger;

A number of improved inflatable fingers 10, of the invention, are shown in FIG. 1 installed in a pleater assembly, shown generally at 11. The pleater assembly is arranged to extend between upright standards 12. and 13 and below a hanger bar 14a, FIG. 6, of a drapery pleating and .folding apparatus 14. A drapery, such as is shown at 15 in FIG. 6, is stretched to a desired length by suspending the top of the drapery from the hanger bar and allowing the drapery to hang freely. The drapery pleats are clamped in the pleater assembly and either the hanger bar or the pleater assembly, or both,

are translated vertically to stretch the drapery to a desired length. Conventional means are provided to connectthe pleater assembly and hanger bar to the standards, whereby they are movable vertically with respect thereto and can be locked in any desired position. The connecting means can be of the type shown in my aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,592,369, for example, or of other well known types.

The means connecting the pleater assembly to the standards is fastened to plates 16 and 17, forming part of the pleater assembly, and a box shaped pleater bar 18 is secured between the side plates to be vertically movable with them.

As best shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pleater bar 18 includes a flanged channel 19, longitudinally closed and sealed by a face plate 20 fastened to its flanges. The channel 19 and plate 20, as shown in FIG. 2, are arranged to form an air duct 21 through which air to inflate the inflatable fingers 10 is directed. The ends of the duct are sealed and orifices 22 are formed through plate 20 to feed air into the inflatable finger. An air hose or pipe 23 connects into the back of the channel 19, as shown in FIG. 1, to introduce compressed air into the air duct from a compressed air source 24. A conventional flow control valve 25 is provided to regulate air flow from the source into the air duct. The compressed air source is conventional and may be a pump, pressure tank, compressor, or any other such source or combination of such components; and a pressure relief valve 26 can be provided between the control valve 25 and the pleater bar 18 so that pressures above that desired, as determined by the setting of the relief valve, 'will be prevented.

A clamp 27 is used as a mounting means to secure each inflatable finger to face plate 20. As shown best in FIG. 2, each clamp 27 comprises a rigid strap with an elongate hole 27a therethrough, through which an inflatable finger 10 is fitted. The clamp has spaced holes 271; and 270 formed through its end portions, which holes are aligned with correspondingly spaced holes 20b and 200 formed in the face plate 20 at opposite sides of one of the orifices 22. Bolts 28a and 28b are respectively inserted through the aligned holes 27b, 20b and 270, 20c and nuts 280 are threaded thereon to secure the assembly. As the nuts are threaded onto the bolts 28a and 28b, a tight seal is developed between face plate 20 and the finger 10, as will be further explained.

The inflatable finger 10, shown exploded in FIG. 2, and assembled in FIG. 5, includes a substantially rigid outer shell 29, which is preferably constructed of plastic but which could be made of metal, heavy molded rubber, or any other such material. The outer shell is flat, hollow anddigital-like in construction having relatively. wide sides and a narrow top and bottom which come together at one rounded end. Elongate, longitudinally extending openings 29a are formed in the wide, spaced apart sides, and a flange 29b is formed on the opposite end of the outer shell to fit beneath the clamp 27 when the outer shell body is inserted through opening 27a.

A fabric sheath 30 is fitted within shell 29 so as to be exposed through openings 29a therein. A fabric bead 30a formed at the open end of the sheath provides a stop that-will engage a shoulder 29c constructed in the outer shell. Shoulder 29c constitutes a transition from a greater to lesser internal size within the outer shell and anchors the sheath against its moving fully out of the openings 29a when the finger is expanded, as will be hereinafter explained in detail. The sheath is constructed of a fabric that is somewhat elastic and that will provide a surface which is capable of gripping drapery type materials. For this purpose a material composed primarily of spandex has been found to be quite satisfactory. An inflatable rubber bladder '31 is fitted within the sheath 30, which is telescoped into the outer shell 29. The rubber bladder 31 is a flat, hollow member having a flange 31a surrounding an open end, which flange 31a corresponds to the flange 29b of the outer shell. Flange 31a of the rubber bladder is held in sealing contact with face plate 20, between the plate and the flange 29b, when clamp 27 is tightened to force outer shell collar 2% against it. When so assembled, the opening in the rubber bladder 31 overlies an orifice 22 through face plate 20 and air forced through the orifice will move into and expand the rubber bladder and its surrounding sheath.

A thin insert member 32 is preferably positioned peripherally within the rubber bladder 31 to reduce the volume therein and to maintain the sides of the bladder separated apart from one another when the air under pressure is released or withdrawn therefrom. Insert member 32 is made of material, such as Teflon( polytetrafluorethylene), that will not adhere to the walls of the bladder 31.

With the inflatable finger 10 mounted and sealed to face plate 20 by clamp 27, air introduced into the pleater bar 18 will inflate the bladder 31, thereby forcing its sides and the side walls of the sheath through the openings 29a. The bladder provides a resilient, gas impervious expansible bag and the sheath provides an expansible durable covering that limits the extent of expansion of the bladder, thereby preventing bursting of the bladder while at the same time providing a good frictional surface for engaging drapery fabrics. The shell 29 limits expansion of the bladder through its openings 29a so as to restrict expansion to only that required. Shell 29 therefor, limits bladder expansion and promotes long bladder life by limiting fatigue inherent in extensive bladder expansion so as to provide a reinforcing thereof. As shown best in FIG. 3, the bladder and sheath do not normally extend beyond the outer shell 29 when the interior of the bladder is not pressurized, but, when pressurized, FIG. 4, the bladder and sheath extend through the openings 29a to engage flat faces of interposed rigid fingers 32. The rigidfingers are part of a swinging pleater bar assembly, shown generally at 33 and are mounted to project from a pleater bar 34 that extends parallel to the pleater bar 18. Pleater bar 34 is fixed to ends of arms 35 and 36, the other ends of which are pivotally connected to posts 37 and 38, rigidly upstanding from and movable with the plates 16 and 17. The rigid'fingers 32 are spaced along and project at right angles from the pleater bar 34 and the lengths of arms 35 and 36 are such that as they are pivoted the rigid fingers will move into and out of an interposed relationship between adjacent inflatable fingers 10, with the flat faces of the fingers 32 then being opposite adjacent inflatable'fingers 10. Drapery pleats fitting between the adjacent rigid and inflatable fingers are therefor securely clamped therebetween when the fingers 10 are inflated.

In operation, the rigid fingers 32 are interposed between adjacent inflatable fingers 10-with a portion of a drapery pleat positioned between each set of rigid and inflatable fingers. Control valve 25 is opened, and compressed air from source 24. is forced into the duct 21 through orifices 22 and into the rubber bladder 31.

Bladder 31 then expands, with a portion thereof and a portion of the fabric sheath .30 moving through openings 29a to engage the drapery pleat on both sides of the inflatable finger and to clamp the pleat against adjacent rigid fingers 32. Fabric sheath 30 provides a non-slip surface against which the individual drapery pleat is firmly clamped. The size of openings 29a in the outer shell restricts the expansion of rubber sheath 31 and the amount of its outward projection therefrom.

The pressure of compressed air within the inflated fingers 10 is controlled by the relief valve 26. The pressurized air can be released by setting the control valve at an exhaust position. Alternatively, a separate exhaust valve or similar system could be used. While not shown, a vacuum pump could also be used to exhaust air from the inflatable fingers if a more rapid contraction is desired.

The use of sheath covered inflatable members to secure the individual drapery pleats provides a reinforced clamping means which is effective, yet gentle to fabrics and safe to use. Because the apparatus utilizes the expansion of rubber bladders to provide a clamping force, it is unlikely that the hand or finger of a human operator would be seriously injured, if inadvertantly caught between an inflatable finger and a rigid finger.

Although a preferred form of my invention has been herein disclosed, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is made by way of example and that variations are possible without departing from the scope of the hereinafter claimed subject matter, which subject matter I regard as my invention.

I claim:

1. An inflatable finger for a drapery pleating and stretching apparatus comprising a digital-like, flat, hollow outer shell having one open end, and elongate openings in side walls thereof;

an elastic fabric sheath inserted within the outershell through the open end thereof to extend across the elongate openings;

a resilient, gas impervious bladder inserted into the sheath through the open end of the shell and having an open end at the open end of the shell and interconnected side walls; and

means for mounting said shell to a drapery pleating and stretching apparatus whereby air under pressure is introduced into and removed from said bladder.

2. An inflatable finger for a drapery pleating and stretching apparatus as in claim 1, further including an insert means positioned within and partially filling the interior of the bladder, whereby the side walls of said bladder are held separated.

3. An inflatable finger for a drapery pleating and stretching apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the elastic liner is constructed of spandex.

4. An inflatable finger for a drapery pleating and stretchingapparatus as in claim 1, wherein the outer shell has a flange surrounding andradiating from the open end thereof; it I the bladder has a flange surrounding and radiating from the open end thereof; and

the means for mounting said shell to the drapery pleating and stretching apparatus comprises a clamp adapted to fit over the shell and against the flange thereof and means for releasably securing the clamp to the apparatus with the flange of the bladder sealingly clamped between the flange of the shell and the apparatus.

5. An inflatable finger for a drapery pleating and stretching apparatus as in claim 1, further including means for anchoring said sheath within said shell.

6. In combination an air header for a drapery pleating and stretching apparatus, said air header comprising a duct having an elongate wall with orifices spaced therealong, means closing the ends of the duct, and means for admitting air under pressure into the duct; Y inflatable fingers pro ecting normally from said header, each of said fingers being positioned over an orifice in the header and each of said fingers comprising a digital-like, flat hollow shell having one open end with a flange surrounding and radiating therefrom and elongate openings in side walls thereof, a reinforcing sheath within the shell and extending across the elongate openings and a gas impervious, resilient bladder having interconnected side walls and one open end extending within said sheath and said shell; and

clamp means for securing the flanges of the shell to the header whereby the open ends of the bladders are sealed over the orifices.

7. The combination of claim 6, wherein the inflatable fingers each include an insert means positioned within and partially filling the bladder, whereby the side walls thereof are held separated.

8. Apparatus as in claim 7 wherein the means for limiting the extent of expansion of the digital-like members comprises an outer shell for each expansible digital-like member, said shell being flat and hollow, open at one end to receive expanding members, and with interconnected side walls having elongate openings therethrough.

9. Apparatus as in claim 8, including an air impervious bladder within said sheath and wherein the means for limiting the extent of expansion of the digital-like members further comprises an elastic, fabric sheath anchored in the outer shell and extending across the elongate openings, and providing reinforcement for said air impervious bladder contained therewithin.

10. Apparatus for pleating and stretching draperies comprising, in combination a pair of upwardly extending, spaced-apart standards;

a horizontal hanger bar extending between and supported by said standards;

a pleater assembly extending horizontally below said hanger bar and supported by said standards said pleater assembly including a relatively fixed pleater member having a first pleater bar with reinforced partially expansible, digital-like members spaced therefrom;

a relatively movable pleater member having a second pleater bar with rigid, projecting digital-like members extending normally therefrom;

means for moving one of said pleater bars with respect to the other, whereby the projecting digital-like members of one bar are interdigitated with the digital-like members of the other bar;

means for moving at least one of said hanger bar and said pleater assembly vertically with respect to the other;

means for expanding and contracting the said expansible digital-like members into and out of engagement with the rigid digital-like members; and

means for limiting the extent of expansion of said expansible digital-like members.

therealong and projecting normally 

1. An inflatable finger for a drapery pleating and stretching apparatus comprising a digital-like, flat, hollow outer shell having one open end, and elongate openings in side walls thereof; an elastic fabric sheath inserted within the outer shell through the open end thereof to extend across the elongate openings; a resilient, gas impervious bladder inserted into the sheath through the open end of the shell and having an open end at the open end of the shell and interconnected side walls; and means for mounting said shell to a drapery pleating and stretching apparatus whereby air under pressure is introduced into and removed from said bladder.
 2. An inflatable finger for a drapery pleating and stretching apparatus as in claim 1, further including an insert means positioned within and partially filling the interior of the bladder, whereby the side walls of said bladder are held separated.
 3. An inflatable finger for a drapery pleating and stretching apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the elastic liner is constructed of spandex.
 4. An inflatable finger for a drapery pleating and stretching apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the outer shell has a flange surrounding and radiating from the open end thereof; the bladder has a flange surrounding and radiating from the open end thereof; and the means for mounting said shell to the drapery pleating and stretching apparatus comprises a clamp adapted to fit over the shell and against the flange thereof and means for releasably securing the clamp to the apparatus with the flange of the bladder sealingly clamped between the flange of the shell and the apparatus.
 5. An inflatable finger for a drapery pleating and stretching apparatus as in claim 1, further including means for anchoring said sheath within said shell.
 6. In combination an air header for a drapery pleating and stretching apparatus, said air header comprising a duct having an elongate wall with orifices spaced therealong, means closing the ends of the duct, and means for admitting air under pressure into the duct; inflatable fingers projecting normally from said header, each of said fingers being positioned over an orifice in the header and each of said fingers comprising a digital-like, flat hollow shell having one open end with a flange surrounding and radiating therefrom and elongate openings in side walls thereof, a reinforcing sheath within the shell and extending across the elongate openings and a gas impervious, resilient bladder having interconnected side walls and one open end extending within said sheath and said shell; and clamp means for securing the flanges of the shell to the header whereby the open ends of the bladders are sealed over the orifices.
 7. The combination of claim 6, wherein the inflatable fingers each include an insert means positioned within and partially filling the bladder, whereby the side walls thereof are held separated.
 8. Apparatus as in claim 7 wherein the means for limiting the extent of expansion of the digital-like members comprises an outer shell for each expansible digital-like member, said shell being flat and hollow, open at one end to receive expanding members, and with interconnected side walls having elongate openings therethrough.
 9. Apparatus as in claim 8, including an air impervious bladder within said sheath and wherein the means for limiting the extent of expansion of the digital-like members further comprises an elastic, fabric sheath anchored in the outer shell and extending across the elongate openings, and providing reinforcement for said air impervious bladder contained therewithin.
 10. Apparatus for pleating and stretching draperies comprising, in combination a pair of upwardly extending, spaced-apart standards; a horizontal hanger bar extending between and supported by said standards; a pleater assembly extending horizontally below said hanger bar and supported by said standards said pleater assembly including a relatively fixed pleater member having a first pleater bar with reInforced partially expansible, digital-like members spaced therealong and projecting normally therefrom; a relatively movable pleater member having a second pleater bar with rigid, projecting digital-like members extending normally therefrom; means for moving one of said pleater bars with respect to the other, whereby the projecting digital-like members of one bar are interdigitated with the digital-like members of the other bar; means for moving at least one of said hanger bar and said pleater assembly vertically with respect to the other; means for expanding and contracting the said expansible digital-like members into and out of engagement with the rigid digital-like members; and means for limiting the extent of expansion of said expansible digital-like members. 